OUTLINE

This Bill makes amendments to
support disadvantaged and vulnerable Australians, and improve
school attendance, as described below.

Income
management

The Bill provides greater
flexibility for the operation of income management, so it can be
implemented in the five new sites announced in the 2011-12
Budget. Amendments also ensure that
income management may be triggered by referrals from State
and Territory agencies, such as the Alcohol and Other Drug Tribunal
in the Northern Territory.

School attendance
plans

The Bill amends the
provisions in the social security law that underpin the
Government’s Improving School Enrolment and Attendance
through Welfare Reform Measure (known as SEAM). It
enables some local tailoring of this measure so the operation of
SEAM can be integrated with the Northern Territory
Government’s Every Child, Every Day initiative, to
support greater improvement of school attendance. Under the
amended arrangements, a parent may be required to attend a
compulsory conference to discuss their child’s school
attendance, to enter into a school attendance plan, and to comply
with the plan. Failure to meet the compliance arrangements
provided by the Bill would lead to suspension of a parent’s
income support payment, unless certain circumstances
apply.

Financial impact
statement

Income
management

There is no direct cost related
to making these amendments. Future costs will depend on the
content of legislative instruments for new
implementations.

School attendance
plans

This measure forms
part of the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory legislation
package’s expansion of the Improving School Enrolment and
Attendance through Welfare Reform Measure . The financial
impact of implementing that measure is $28.2 million over four
years from 1 July 2011, with the measures in this Bill commencing
from 1 July 2012.

Clause 1 sets out how the new Act is to
be cited, that is, as the Social Security Legislation Amendment
Act 2011 .

Clause 2 provides a table that sets out
the commencement dates of the various sections in, and Schedules
to, the new Act.

Clause 3 provides that each Act that is
specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in that
Schedule.

Schedule 1
- Income management

Summary

This Schedule provides greater
flexibility for the operation of income management, to facilitate
its implementation in the five new sites announced in the 2011-12
Budget. The amendments also ensure
that income management may be triggered by referrals from
State and Territory agencies, such as the alcohol and drug tribunal
in the Northern Territory.

Background

The income management regime
under Part 3B of the Social Security Administration Act operates as
a tool to support vulnerable individuals and families. It
provides a tool to stabilise people’s circumstances by
limiting expenditure of income support payments on excluded items,
including alcohol, tobacco, pornography, gambling goods and
activities. A person subject to the income management regime
has an income management account. Amounts are deducted from
the person’s welfare payments and credited to the
person’s income management account. Amounts are debited
from the person’s income management account for the purposes
of enabling the Secretary to take action directed towards meeting
the priority needs of the person. Income managed funds cannot
be used for excluded items.

Income management triggered by
State and Territory agency referral

The provisions in Part 1 of
Schedule 1 amend Part 3B of the Social Security Administration Act,
inserting a new income management measure to enable income
management referrals from a range of State and Territory
authorities.

The State and Territory
authorities will be specified by legislative instrument, and they
will be able to make referrals for income management in a similar
way to the current child protection income management
measure. This measure could be used to accept referrals from
the Northern Territory Alcohol and Other Drug Tribunal. While
the default deductible portion will be 70 per cent, the
measure will also allow for varying deductible portions to be set
by legislative instrument, depending on the referring body, the
person’s usual place of residence and the type of welfare
payment the person is receiving.

Enabling targeted place-based
income management

The Building
Australia’s Future Workforce package announced in the
2011-12 Budget includes the introduction of targeted place-based
income management in five disadvantaged communities across
Australia - Playford (SA), Bankstown (NSW), Shepparton
(Vic) and Rockhampton and Logan (Qld).

In these communities from 1 July
2012, income management will apply to vulnerable families and
individuals, including:

· parents referred for
income management by State or Territory child protection
authorities;

· people assessed by
Centrelink social workers as being vulnerable to financial crisis,
which could include people referred by housing authorities who are
at risk of homelessness due to rental arrears; and

people who volunteer for income
management.

This Schedule makes minor
legislative changes to allow these child protection, vulnerable
welfare payment recipient and voluntary income management measures
to apply without necessarily applying other measures currently
linked to the vulnerable measure. (At present, the
long-term welfare payment recipient and the disengaged youth
income management measures currently in place in the Northern
Territory are linked to the child protection, vulnerable welfare
payment recipient and voluntary measures of income
management.)

The provisions will enable the
Minister to specify separately, by legislative instrument, States,
Territories or areas in which the vulnerable, long-term welfare
payment and disengaged youth income management measures will
apply.

Continuing income management
despite change of residence

Many of the current income
management measures are location-specific. That is, a person
may be subject to income management as a vulnerable welfare payment
recipient, long-term welfare payment recipient or disengaged youth
only if their usual place of residence is within a declared income
management area. Similarly, a person may only volunteer to be
income managed if their usual place of residence is within a
declared voluntary income management area. However, having
become subject to income management, it may not be to the
person’s benefit for income management to end upon their
moving to reside outside the declared area. The current
provisions may also create an inappropriate incentive for people to
move in order to avoid income management. These amendments
provide for income management to continue despite a change in
residence, provided the other elements of income management
qualification are maintained.

Minor amendment -
exemptions for acceptable absences from school

Exemptions to the long-term
welfare recipient and disengaged youth measures of income
management are available where people are engaged in study or work,
and for parents who demonstrate responsibility for their children,
like getting them to school and having regular health checks.
A person with dependent children may be exempt if each child
is enrolled at school and has had no more than five unacceptable
absences in each of the two school terms ending immediately before
that time.

This Schedule makes a minor
amendment to clarify the types of school absence which would
prevent a person being exempted from income management. This
will make it clearer that these types of absence are not considered
satisfactory to a person responsible for the operation of the
school (including a school principal, manager or truancy
officer). Alternatively, if the absences may not be
satisfactory, but the person is taking reasonable steps to ensure
that the child attends school, they may nonetheless be exempt from
income management.

The amendments made by this
Schedule commence on the later of 1 July 2012 and the
28 th day after the Act receives the Royal Assent.
This will allow time for the necessary instruments to be made to
support the amendments, including specifying and, where necessary,
re-specifying areas in which affected measures will apply from
commencement.

Explanation of
the changes

Part 1 - State/Territory
referrals

Amendments to the Social
Security Act

Item 1 omits the reference in
section 1061WG(1)(c) to section 123UE of the Social
Security Administration Act and substitutes a reference to both
section 123UE and the new section 123UFAA that is created
by item 10 below. This amendment ensures that people
subject to income management under the new measure will qualify for
the matched savings scheme.

Amendments to the Social
Security Administration Act

Item 2 inserts a new paragraph (ga)
into the simplified outline of income management set out in
section 123TA of the Social Security Administration Act, to
include a reference to the new external referral
measure.

Item 3 inserts a definition of
recognised State or Territory into section 123TC
by reference to new section 123TGAB inserted by item 6
below, which enables the Minister, by legislative instrument, to
determine that a specified State or Territory is a recognised State
or Territory.

Item 4 inserts a definition of
recognised State/Territory authority into
section 123TC to refer the reader to new section 123TGAA
inserted by item 6 below.

Item 5 amends the definition of
subject to the income management regime in
section 123TC to add a reference to the new external referral
measure set up in new section 123UFAA as set out in
item 10 below.

Item 6 inserts new
sections 123TGAA and 123TGAB after section 123TG.
New section 123TGAA provides that the Minister may determine,
by legislative instrument, that a specified department, or part of
a department, body or agency of a State or Territory is a
recognised State/Territory authority for the purposes of the new
external referral power. New section 123TGAB provides
that the Minister may determine, by legislative instrument, that a
particular State or Territory is a recognised State or Territory
for the purposes of the new referral measure. These new
sections provide the mechanism by which the external referral
measure is turned on in a particular area.

Items 7, 8 and 9 make minor
amendments to paragraphs 123UCA(e), 123UCB(1)(f) and
123UCC(1)(f) to provide that a person who is subject to income
management under the external referral measure cannot be subject to
income management under the vulnerable, disengaged youth or long
term welfare recipient measures as well.

Item 10 inserts new section 123UFAA
into Division 2 of Part 3B of the Social Security Administration
Act. The new section sets out how a person becomes subject to
income management under the new external referral
measure.

Subsection 123UFAA(1)
provides that a person will be subject to income management at the
test time if:

(a) the person or their partner is
an eligible recipient of a category H welfare payment;

(b) before the test time, an
employee or officer of a recognised State/Territory authority (as
defined in new section 123TGAA) gave the Secretary a written notice
requiring that the person be subject to the income management
regime;

(c) the notice was given under
either a law of, or the executive power of, the recognised State or
Territory;

(d) at the test time, the notice had
not been withdrawn or revoked;

(e) at the test time, the State or
Territory is a recognised State or Territory (as defined in new
section 123TGAB);

(f) if, at the test
time, the person had a payment nominee - the payment nominee
is not an excluded payment nominee; and

(g) at the test time, the person is
not subject to income management under section 123UC, 123UD,
123UE or 123UF.

Subsection 123UFAA(2)
provides that, for the purposes of Part 3B, a person will also be
subject to income management at the test time, if, at that
time:

(a) the person is not subject to
income management under any other provision;

(b) the person had a payment
nominee; and

(c) the payment nominee is subject
to income management under subsection 123UFAA(1).

Items 11, 12 and 13 make minor
amendments to the circumstances in which a voluntary income
management agreement can be entered into by a person and the
Secretary, and when the agreement starts and terminates.

Item 11 makes amendments to
paragraph 123UM(5)(a) to provide that a person cannot enter
into a voluntary income management agreement if they are subject to
income management under the external referral measure.

Item 12 makes amendments to
subparagraph 123UN(1)(a)(v) to provide that a voluntary income
management agreement cannot start while a person is subject to
income management under the external referral measure.

Item 13 makes amendments to
subparagraph 123UO(3)(b)(v) to provide that a voluntary income
management agreement will end if the person becomes subject to
income management under the external referral measure.

Item 14 makes minor amendments to
paragraphs 123WJ(1)(c) and (d) to provide that, if a person
has a credit balance in their income management account at the time
they cease to be subject to income management under the external
referral measure, that credit balance can be paid to the person in
a manner specified in section 123WJ.

Section 123WJ provides that
a credit balance may be paid directly to the person by instalments
or in a lump sum. Alternatively, with the consent of the
person, the credit balance can be used to pay an expense of the
person, or another person, or offset against a debt owed to the
Commonwealth by a person.

Item 15 inserts a new
Subdivision DAA into Division 5 of Part 3B of the Social
Security Administration Act. Subdivision DAA deals with the
deduction of amounts from a person’s relevant welfare
payments under the income management regime if the person is
subject to income management under new section 123UFAA
(because of a referral from a recognised State/Territory authority
in relation to the person).

New section 123XPAA applies
if a person is subject to income management under new
section 123UFAA and an instalment of a category I
welfare payment is payable to the person. The term
category I welfare payment is defined in section 123TC of the
Social Security Administration Act. If section 123XPAA
applies, the Secretary must deduct 70 per cent (or another
percentage if the Minister has, by legislative instrument,
specified another percentage, which may be up to 100 per cent) of
the net amount of that payment and credit the
person’s income management account and the Income Management
Record accordingly. (The term net amount is defined in
section 123TC of the Administration Act.)

New section 123XPAB applies
if a person is subject to income management under new
section 123UFAA and a payment of a category I welfare payment
is payable to the person other than by instalments (that is, by
lump sum). If section 123XPAB applies, the Secretary
must deduct 100 per cent (or a lower percentage if the Minister
has, by legislative instrument, specified a lower percentage) of
the net amount that is payable and credit it to the person’s
income management account and the Income Management Record
accordingly.

New subsections 123XPAA(4)
and 123XPAB(4) provide that the Minister may specify, in a
legislative instrument, a different percentage to be deducted from
an instalment or lump sum payable to a person based on the type of
welfare payment received, where the person usually lives, and/or
which State/Territory authority has made the referral.

The Minister’s capacity to
make legislative instruments to specify varying deductible portions
provides for the greatest flexibility for this income management
measure to ensure the most appropriate levels of support for people
at risk relevant to their circumstances.

Item 16 inserts a new
section 123ZDA into Division 7 of Part 3B of the Social
Security Administration Act. Section 123ZDA provides
that, where a person is no longer subject to income management
under section 123UFAA because they, or their partner, have
their category I welfare payment cancelled, and the notice from the
recognised State/Territory authority has not been withdrawn or
revoked, the Secretary must give notice of the cancellation to an
officer or employee of the relevant recognised State/Territory
authority as soon as practicable.

Item 17 inserts a new
section 123ZEAA. The new section 123ZEAA provides that,
despite any State or Territory law, an officer or employee of a
recognised State/Territory authority can give information about a
particular person to the Secretary if the officer or employee is
considering whether to give a notice under
paragraph 123UFAA(1)(b) or the person in question is already
subject to income management under section 123UFAA, and the
information being disclosed is relevant to Part 3B (that is, the
application of income management). Where information has been
provided to the Secretary by an officer or employee of a recognised
State/Territory authority, then the Secretary will be authorised to
release protected information back to an officer or employee of the
relevant recognised State/Territory authority for the purposes of
the performance of the functions and duties, or the exercise of the
powers, of the officer or employee in relation to the care,
protection or welfare of the person.

Item 18 is an application provision that
ensures the new external referral measure will only be effective in
relation to referral notices given on or after the commencement of
this Act.

Part 2 - Other
amendments

This Part amends the Social
Security Administration Act.

Decoupling the vulnerable income
management measure

The vulnerable, long-term
welfare payment recipient and disengaged youth measures are
decoupled by empowering the Minister to declare areas separately
for the purposes of each measure.

Items 19, 20 and 21 are incidental to
decoupling these measures . Item 19
repeals the definition of declared income management
area , by reference to section 123TFA. This definition
currently applies commonly across all three measures. Item
20 repeals section 123TFA. Item 21 inserts
subsection (1) before the existing paragraphs of section
123UCA, to allow for new subsections (2) and (3) inserted by
item 23 below.

Item 22 repeals and substitutes
paragraph 123UCA(b), relating to the vulnerable measure. New
paragraph (b) replaces the previous reference to a
person’s usual place of residence being within a declared
income management area with a requirement that the person’s
usual place of residence is within a State, a Territory or an area
specified in an instrument under new subsection (3) (which will be
inserted by item 23 below). This wording provides the
same scope for specification of areas as repealed
section 123TFA, which dealt with declared income management
areas.

Item 24 repeals and substitutes
paragraph 123UCB(1)(c) for the purposes of the disengaged youth
measure. New paragraph (c) replaces the previous
reference to a person’s usual place of residence being within
a declared income management area with a requirement that the
person’s usual place of residence be within a State, a
Territory or an area specified in an instrument under new
subsection (4) (which will be inserted by item 25
below). This wording provides the same scope for
specification of areas as repealed section 123TFA, which dealt
with declared income management areas.

Item 26 repeals and substitutes
paragraph 123UCC(1)(c) for the purposes of the long-term welfare
payment recipient measure. New paragraph (c) replaces
the previous reference to a person’s usual place of residence
being within a declared income management area with a requirement
that the person’s usual place of residence be within a State,
a Territory or an area specified in an instrument under new
subsection (4) (which will be inserted by item 27
below). This wording provides the same scope for
specification of areas as repealed section 123TFA, which dealt
with declared income management areas.

Continuing income management
despite change of residence

Item 23 relates to the vulnerable
measure provided by section 123UCA. New subsection (2)
provides that, if a person is subject to the income management
regime under subsection (1), and the person’s usual place of
residence ceases to be within a State, a Territory or an area
specified in an instrument under subsection (3), and, at the time
of that cessation, the other elements of qualification for income
management continue to apply, then the person remains subject to
the income management regime despite the change in residence.
However, if any of the other qualifying elements subsequently cease
to apply, then income management will end.

New subsection (3) empowers the
Minister, by legislative instrument, to specify a State, a
Territory or an area for the purposes of section 123UCA.

Item 25 similarly relates to the
disengaged youth measure provided by section 123UCB. New
subsection (3) provides that, if a person is subject to the
income management regime under subsection (1), and the
person’s usual place of residence ceases to be within a
State, a Territory or an area specified in an instrument under
subsection (4), and, at the time of that cessation, the other
elements of qualification for income management continue to apply,
then the person remains subject to the income management regime
despite the change in residence.

If any of the other qualifying
elements subsequently cease to apply, then income management will
end. In any case, the continuation of income management will
end 13 weeks after the person’s usual place of residence
ceased to be within the specified State, Territory or area.
This measure will end after 13 weeks because, unlike the vulnerable
and child protection measures, it is not subject to review at least
annually.

New subsection (4) empowers the
Minister, by legislative instrument, to specify a State, a
Territory or an area for the purposes of section 123UCB.

Item 27 similarly relates to the
long-term welfare recipient measure provided by section
123UCC. New subsection (3) provides
that, if a person is subject to the income management regime under
subsection (1), and the person’s usual place of residence
ceases to be within a State, a Territory or an area specified in an
instrument under subsection (4), and, at the time of that
cessation, the other elements of qualification for income
management continue to apply, then the person remains subject to
the income management regime despite the change in
residence.

If any of the other qualifying
elements subsequently ceases to apply, then income management will
end. In any case, the continuation of income management will
end 13 weeks after the person’s usual place of residence
ceased to be within the specified State, Territory or area.
This measure will end after 13 weeks because, unlike the vulnerable
and child protection measures, it is not subject to review at least
annually.

New subsection (4) empowers the
Minister, by legislative instrument, to specify a State, a
Territory or an area for the purposes of section 123UCC.

Item 31 repeals subparagraph
123UO(3)(b)(ii), to remove the requirement for the Secretary to
terminate a voluntary income management agreement upon the
person’s usual place of residence ceasing to be within a
declared income management area. The Secretary may terminate
the agreement for other reasons in this circumstance, such as it
not being feasible for the Secretary to meet the person’s
priority needs in the new location.

Item 32 provides for the application of
the amendment made by item 31 . The amendment applies
in relation to voluntary income management agreements that are in
force on or after the commencement of that item, whether the
agreements were entered into before, on or after that
commencement. This ensures that this flexibility is
immediately available to all people currently voluntarily income
managed.

Exemption for acceptable
absences from school

Item 28 repeals subparagraph
123UGD(1)(b)(i), and substitutes new subparagraphs (i) and
(ia). These new subparagraphs provide an element of when a
person is an exempt welfare payment recipient related to their
dependent child’s school attendance. Each new
subparagraph is an alternative to the other. Each of the
alternatives must be established to the satisfaction of the
Secretary in order to apply.

Substituted subparagraph (i)
provides that the criterion is met if, at the test time, the child
is enrolled at a school and, in each of the two school terms ending
immediately before that time, the child has had no more than five
absences for reasons that are not satisfactory to a person
responsible for the operation of the school. Alternatively,
new subparagraph (ii) provides that the criterion is met if, at the
test time, the child has had more than five unsatisfactory
absences, but the person is taking reasonable steps to ensure that
the child attends school as required by the law of the State or
Territory concerned. This allows some leeway for a parent
still potentially to be an exempt welfare
payment recipient if, for example, they have an older teenage child
who is not reliably attending school, but are taking all reasonable
steps to address the non-attendance.

Items 29 and 30 insert a definition
of person responsible for the purposes of new
subparagraphs 123UGD(1)(b)(i) and (ii). The person
responsible for the operation of a school has the same meaning as
in Part 3C - School requirements. Item 29
generalises the heading to subsection 123UGD(7), which will now
contain two definitions for the purposes of the section.

Schedule 2
- School attendance
plans

Summary

This Schedule
amends the provisions in the social security law that underpin the
Government’s Improving School Enrolment and Attendance
through Welfare Reform Measure (known as SEAM). It
enables some local tailoring of this measure so the operation of
SEAM can be integrated with the Northern Territory
Government’s Every Child, Every Day initiative, to
support greater improvement of school attendance. Under the
amended arrangements, a parent may be required to attend a
compulsory conference to discuss their child’s school
attendance, to enter into a school attendance plan, and to comply
with the plan. Failure to meet the compliance arrangements
provided by this Schedule would lead to suspension of a
parent’s income support payment, unless certain circumstances
apply.

Background

This Schedule inserts new
Division 3A into Part 3C of the Social Security Administration Act,
which relates to SEAM. Division 3 is retained under the
amendments made by this Schedule.

New Division 3A enables the
Secretary or a person responsible for the operation of a school to
require a person to attend a conference to discuss the school
attendance of their child, to enter into a school attendance plan
at the conference, and to comply with the plan.

New Division 3A makes provision
for the Secretary or a person responsible for the operation of a
school to give compliance notices where a person fails to attend a
conference, fails to enter a plan, or fails to comply with a
plan. The compliance notice would require the person to
attend a conference, enter a plan, or comply with a plan, depending
on what failure led to the giving of the notice.

New Division 3A provides that,
if there is a failure to comply with a compliance notice, then
payments will be suspended, subject to the following
exceptions:

suspension of payments could not
occur if the Secretary were satisfied that there were
‘special circumstances’ to justify the failure to
comply with the compliance notice; and

the Secretary may determine,
having regard to all the circumstances, that, if a person has been
fined under a State or Territory law regarding a failure of the
person’s child to attend school, payments may not be
suspended despite non-compliance with the compliance notice,
even if no special circumstances exist.

Explanation of the
changes

Amendments to the Social
Security Administration Act

Item 1 updates paragraph 37AA(1)(b) of
the Social Security Administration Act to include a reference to
new subsection 124NE(1).

Items 2 updates note 2 to section 37AA
of the Social Security Administration Act to include a reference to
new section 124NE.

Item 3 updates note 3 to section 37AA
of the Social Security Administration Act to include a reference to
new section 124NF.

Item 4 updates the note to paragraph
85(1)(a) of the Social Security Administration Act to include a
reference to new section 124NG.

Item 5 amends paragraph 123(1)(c) of
the Social Security Administration Act to include a reference to
new section 124NF.

Item 6 repeals and substitutes subsection 124(2) of
the Social Security Administration Act. The new subsection
provides that, if Part 3C ceases to apply to a person while the
person’s schooling requirement payment is suspended under
Part 3C, then, despite that cessation, section 124J, 124N
or 124NG, as the case requires, is taken to apply in relation
to the person and, for this purpose, the reconsideration day for
the purposes of that section is taken to be the day of that
cessation.

The new subsection is simpler
than the repealed subsection. It takes account of the new
section 124NG and avoids the possibility of a person’s
payment remaining suspended indefinitely, even though Part 3C no
longer applies to them. In this circumstance, a
person’s entitlement to arrears would be determined in
accordance with section 124J, 124N or 124NG, as the case
required.

A note to the new subsection
states that sections 124J, 124N and 124NJ deal with when payments
become payable after suspension.

Item 7 amends section 124A of the
Social Security Administration Act by including a reference to (1)
before ‘In’. This reflects the addition of new
subsection 124A(2) by this Schedule.

Item 8 amends the definition of
person responsible for the operation of a school in
section 124A by adding a new paragraph (aa), which refers to a
person included in a class of persons specified in an instrument
under new subsection 124A(2).

Item 9 adds new subsection 124A(2),
which provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument,
specify a class of persons for the purposes of paragraph (aa) of
the definition of person responsible for the operation of a
school. It is likely that a truancy officer at a school would
be among the class of persons specified for the purpose of
paragraph (aa) of the definition. This is to ensure that, if
desired, persons in classes specified in the instrument can
themselves provide notices for the purpose of new Division 3A of
Part 3C of the Social Security Administration Act so that there is
no need to involve other people responsible for the operation of a
school in the giving of notices.

Item 10 repeals the heading to Division
3 of Part 3C, which referred to ‘school attendance’,
and substitutes a new heading, ‘Division 3 - School
attendance notices’. This takes account of new Division
3A of Part 3C, which also relates to school attendance.

Item 11 inserts new Division 3A into
Part 3C of the Social Security Administration Act. New
Division 3A will contain the substantive provisions relating to
school attendance plans.

New section 124NA sets out when
new Division 3A will apply to a person. The first criterion
is that a schooling requirement person’s child is enrolled at
a school in a State or Territory. The meaning of
schooling requirement person and child
is set out in section 124. The second criterion is that
a person responsible for the operation of the school gives the
Secretary written notice that the child is failing to attend
school, as required by the law of that State or Territory, to the
satisfaction of the person responsible. The meaning of person
responsible for the operation of a school is as set out in
section 124A, as amended by this Schedule.

Conference
notices

New section 124NB provides that
the Secretary or the person responsible for the operation of the
school (the notifier ) may give a ‘conference
notice’ to a schooling requirement person which specifies the
following:

· the person is required to attend a
conference with a specified person at a specified place and
time;

· the purpose of the conference is to
discuss the child’s school attendance;

· the person is required, at the
conference, to enter into a school attendance plan in accordance
with new section 124NC;

· the consequences under new Division
3A of not complying with the notice.

The conference notice would be
required to specify all of the above matters. If, after the
notice was given, the schooling requirement person indicated to the
notifier that they would have difficulty in attending the
conference, the notifier might agree to give a new notice with a
revised place or time. In practice, a notifier might discuss
with the person a suitable place and time for the conference before
giving the initial conference notice.

School attendance
plans

New section 124NC deals with
school attendance plans. Subsection 124NC(1) provides
that the notifier, that is, the Secretary or the person responsible
for the operation of the school, may require a schooling
requirement person to enter into a school attendance plan if such a
plan is not in force in relation to them. It is envisaged
that, in practice, a person would not be required to enter a school
attendance plan unless they had also been required to attend a
conference under section 124NB. Similarly, in practice, a
person would be unlikely to be required to attend such a conference
without also being required to enter a school attendance
plan. However, the notifier would retain a discretion under
subsection 124NC(1) in this regard.

Subsection 124NC(2) provides
that the notifier may require a schooling requirement person to
enter into another plan instead of an existing plan.

Subsection 124NC(3) provides
that the notifier is to give the schooling requirement person
notice of the requirement to enter a plan, the place and time at
which the plan is to be entered into, and the consequences of not
complying with the requirement.

Subsection 124NC(4) provides
that the notice of requirement to enter a school attendance plan
may be included in a notice under new section 124NB or 124ND,
without limitation to subsection 124NC(3).

Subsection 124NC(5) provides
that a school attendance plan must be in a form approved by the
notifier.

Subsection 124NC(6) provides
that a school attendance plan must cover one or more child or
children of the schooling requirement person.

Subsection 124NC(7)
provides that a school attendance plan must contain requirements,
which the schooling requirement person is required to comply with,
that the notifier considers appropriate for the purpose of ensuring
improved school attendance of the one or more children covered by
the plan.

Compliance
notices

New section 124ND deals with
compliance notices. Subsection 124ND(1) provides that the
notifier, that is, the Secretary or the person responsible for the
operation of the school, may give a ‘compliance notice’
to a schooling requirement person, requiring the person to comply
with one or more requirements specified in the notice.
Subsection 124ND(1) provides that the notifier may issue a
compliance notice if the person commits any of the following
failures:

· if a conference notice is given to
the person under new subsection 124NB(1) - the person
fails to attend the conference at the place and time specified in
the conference notice under paragraph 124NB(1)(a);

· the person fails to enter into a
school attendance plan in accordance with new
section 124NC;

· the person fails to comply with a
school attendance plan in force in relation to them.

Subsection 124ND(3) provides
that a requirement specified in the compliance notice must be one
that the notifier considers appropriate for the purpose of ensuring
improved school attendance of the schooling requirement
person’s child. This would include, for example,
requirements to attend a conference, enter a school attendance
plan, or comply with a school attendance plan.

Condition of schooling
requirement payments

New subsection 124NE(1) provides
that a schooling requirement payment is not payable to a schooling
requirement person if the person fails to comply with a compliance
notice given to the person under new section 124ND. New
subsection 124NE(2) provides that subsection 124NE(1) does not
apply to the person in relation to a compliance notice, as at a
particular day, if the Secretary is satisfied that there are
special circumstances as at that day that justify the failure to
comply with the compliance notice. Whether there are special
circumstances that justify the failure to comply is to be
determined in accordance with the schooling requirement
determination (if any). Examples of special circumstances may
include significant sickness that would be likely to prevent a
parent from complying with the compliance notice, or natural
disaster.

New subsection 124NE(3) provides
that subsection 124NE(1) does not apply to the person in relation
to a compliance notice as at a particular day if, before that day,
the person had been fined under a State or Territory law in
relation to the failure of the person’s child to attend
school in that State or Territory, and if the Secretary determines
that subsection 124NE(1) should not apply to the person as at that
day, having regard to all the circumstances. The
circumstances which the Secretary might consider would include but
not be limited to the length of time since the fine was imposed,
whether the fine had been paid, and the history of school
attendance by the person’s child, the parent’s
compliance with their attendance plan and their ongoing efforts to
ensure their child goes to school.

New subsection 124NE(4) provides
that a schooling requirement payment cannot be suspended, or
cancelled, because of the application of subsection 124NE(1)
except as provided by new section 124NF (which provides for
suspension or cancellation for non-compliance with a compliance
notice).

New subsection 124NE(5) provides
that, for a schooling requirement payment under the Veterans’
Entitlements Act, section 124NE applies in relation to the payment
except in relation to the grant of the payment.

New subsection 124NE(6) provides
that a determination under paragraph 124NE(3)(b) is not a
legislative instrument. This provision is included to assist
readers, because the determination would not be a legislative
instrument under section 5 of the Legislative Instruments Act
2003 as it would not be legislative in character.

Suspension or cancellation for
non-compliance with compliance notice

New section 124NF relates to
suspension or cancellation of payments for non compliance with
a compliance notice.

Subsection 124NF(1) provides
that section 124NF applies if, as at a particular day:

· a
schooling requirement person has been given a compliance notice;
and

· a
schooling requirement payment is not payable to the person because
subsection 124NE(1) applies to the person as at that
day.

A note to new
section 124NE explains that a schooling requirement payment is
not payable to a person if they fail to comply with a compliance
notice.

Subsection
124NF(2) provides that:

· the
Secretary must determine that the payment is to be suspended or
cancelled if the payment has been suspended under
subsection 124NF(2) for a total period of 13 weeks or more
(which need not be a continuous period) in relation to compliance
with the compliance notice; or

· in
any other case - the Secretary must determine that the
payment is to be suspended.

Subsection
124NF(3) provides that the Secretary may make more than one
determination under subsection 124NF(2) in relation to
compliance with a particular compliance notice.

A note to
subsection 124NF(2) explains that, following suspension of a
schooling requirement payment, the payment may become payable again
under new section 124NG. Subsection 124NG(3) allows for
a further suspension of the payment, even after the payment has
become payable again.

Subsection
124NF(4) provides that the Secretary may suspend a schooling
requirement person’s schooling requirement payment under the
section even if the person has not started to receive the
payment.

A note to
subsection 124NF(4) explains that a compliance notice may be given
to a claimant for a schooling requirement payment. The claim
may be granted even if subsection 124NE(1) applies to the
person. However, in that event, the Secretary must suspend
the payment under section124NF (before it has started).

When payments become payable
after suspension

New section 124NG relates to
when a person’s schooling requirement payment becomes payable
following suspension. Subsection 124NG(1) provides that
section 124NG applies if, on a particular day (the
reconsideration day):

· a person’s schooling
requirement payment has been, and remains, suspended under new
section 124NF, where the compliance notice concerned required the
person to enter into a school attendance plan; and

· the Secretary has reconsidered the
decision to suspend the payment (whether on an application under
section 129 or on his or her own initiative); and

· as a result of the reconsideration,
the Secretary is satisfied that, as at the reconsideration
day:

- the person has entered a plan
containing requirements that the Secretary considers appropriate
for the purpose of ensuring improved school attendance of the child
or children covered by the plan; or

- special circumstances apply, as
determined in accordance with the schooling requirement
determination (if any), that justify the person being unable to
enter such a plan.

Subsection 124NG(2) provides
that section 124NG also applies if, on a particular day (the
reconsideration day):

· a person’s schooling
requirement payment has been, and remains, suspended under new
section 124NF, where the compliance notice concerned required the
person to comply with a school attendance plan in force in relation
to the person; and

· the Secretary has reconsidered the
decision to suspend the payment (whether on an application under
section 129 or on his or her own initiative); and

· as a result of the reconsideration,
the Secretary is satisfied that, as at the reconsideration
day:

- the person is complying with the
plan; or

- special circumstances apply, as
determined in accordance with the schooling requirement
determination (if any), that justify the person being unable to
enter such a plan.

The effect of subsection
124NG(3) is that, if section 124NG applies, the Secretary must
determine:

· that the schooling requirement
payment is payable to the schooling requirement person (subject to
any other provision of the social security law or the
Veterans’ Entitlements Act, as the case requires);
and

· that any arrears resulting from the
operation of the section are to be paid at a time, or times, stated
in the determination (or worked out in accordance with that
determination).

Subsection 124NG(4) provides
that, if a person’s payment has been suspended under new
section 124NF for a total period of less than 13 weeks (which need
not be a continuous period) in relation to compliance with a
particular compliance notice, the date of effect of the
determination under subsection 124NG(3) is the day on which the
latest suspension determination was made under new section
124NF.

A note to subsection 124NG(4)
explains that a schooling requirement payment may be suspended more
than once under new section 124NF.

Subsection 124NG(5) provides
that, if subsection 124NG(4) does not apply, the date of effect of
the determination under subsection 124NG(3) is:

· the
reconsideration day; or

· an
earlier day stated by the Secretary in that determination to be
appropriate, in the special circumstances of the case applying as
at the reconsideration day, as determined in accordance with the
schooling requirement determination, if any.

Subsection
124NG(6) provides that, for the purposes of subsection 124NG(5),
the Secretary may vary a determination under subsection 124NG(3) to
state an earlier date of effect, if the determination:

· does not
include such a statement; or

· includes such a
statement in relation to a later day.

Subsection
124NG(7) provides that arrears resulting from the operation of this
section may be paid to the person as a lump sum payment, a series
of regular payments, or otherwise, in accordance with the
determination under subsection 124NG(3).

Subsection
124NG(8) provides that the person is entitled to a payment, or
payments, of arrears arising from the operation of section 124NG at
the time, or times, provided by the determination under subsection
124NG(3).

Subsection
124NG(9) provides that Division 9 of Part 3 of the Social
Security Administration
Act (date of effect of determinations) does not apply in relation
to a determination under subsection 124NG(3).

Item 12 repeals and substitutes
subsection 124NP(2). The revised subsection provides that,
despite any law in force in a State Territory:

· a State or Territory; or

· a non-government school authority;
or

· any other person who is responsible
for the operation of one or more schools;

may, for the purposes of Part
3C, give the Secretary information about:

· the attendance, or non-attendance,
of children at school; and/or

· a person’s compliance with a
compliance notice given to the person.

Information about a
person’s compliance with a compliance notice given to the
person would include, but not be limited to, information about the
content of an attendance plan in force in relation to the person,
and information about the reasons for
non compliance.

This amendment is to ensure that
information can be given to the Secretary about, not only an
attendance notice under Division 3 of Part 3C, but also about
compliance with a compliance notice given under new Division 3A of
Part 3C.

Item 13 inserts new Division 5 into Part
3C, which will contain general provisions. New
section 124PA provides that no Division of Part 3C limits any
other Division of Part 3C.

Item 14 inserts new paragraph 195(2)(l)
into the Social Security Administration Act to provide a new
category of information that the Secretary may require a person to
give for a purpose specified in subsection 195(1) (which relates to
verification of claims). The new category includes, in
relation to a person in respect of whom a compliance notice is in
force, any information relevant to the person’s compliance
with a compliance notice.

Item 15 inserts new paragraph 202(7)(e)
into the Social Security Administration Act, the effect of which is
that, if protected information relates to a person’s
compliance with a compliance notice given to the person, a person
may do any of the things set out in subsection 202(6).

Item 16 amends subclause 1(1) of
Schedule 1 to the Social Security Administration Act by inserting a
new definition of compliance notice . This
provides that compliance notice has the meaning given by new
section 124ND.

Item 17 updates subparagraph 5(2)(f) of
Schedule 2 to the Social Security Administration Act to include a
reference to new section 124NF.

Item 18 provides that new paragraph
124NA(b) of the Social Security Administration Act applies in
relation to notices given on or after the day on which the item
commences. Item 18 also provides that new Division 3A
of Part 3C of the Social Security Administration Act, as inserted
by this Schedule, applies in relation to a schooling requirement
payment, whether it is claimed or granted, before, on or after the
day on which this item commences.